Queensland Wildlife Photography Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Cairns to Daintree

The Daintree is an area of ancient tropical rainforest spanning 120,000 hectares, making it the largest portion of tropical rainforest in Australia.

You will visit several quiet nature trails that offer unique opportunities to experience the natural scenery and endemic wildlife within the National Park. Private property access increases your chances of encountering a wild Southern Cassowary, one of the major target species for the day.
Overnight Location: Lodge in Daintree
Meals: Lunch, dinner

Day 2 Cape Tribulation

If you are morning person, we recommend heading down to Cape Tribulation Beach to watch the sunrise. The day continues with guided photography nature walks through Jindalba, Maardja and Dubuji boardwalks.

After lunch is the hottest part of the day, so while the wildlife is less active, take advantage of a swim in one of the many freshwater rainforest creeks that epitomise the tropical rainforest. As the sun goes down, the day is not over! After you have enjoyed an outstanding evening meal, it is time to adventure into the nocturnal world. Highlights for the evening walk may include the Papuan Frogmouth, Leaf-tailed Gecko and Lesser-sooty Owl.

Daintree and Cape Tribulation wildlife sightings may include the Southern Cassowary, Eastern Osprey, Boyd’s Forest Dragon, Green Tree-Snake, Saltwater Crocodile, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Shining Flycatcher, Ulysses butterfly, White-lipped Tree Frog, Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo, Striped Possum, Azure Kingfisher, Little Kingfisher and Australian Scrub Python.
Overnight Location: Lodge in Daintree
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3 Cape Tribulation to Atherton Tablelands

Our day begins before the sun rises on three hours private boat cruise on the beautiful Daintree River in the dawn light. Observing wildlife on a quiet, clean, solar electric boat with zero impact on the environment is a huge advantage for wildlife photographers. You’ll have a 99% success rate for spotting crocodiles, excellent bird watching opportunities and other wildlife possibilities such as snakes, frogs and fish and bats. Daintree River wildlife sightings may include the Great-billed Heron, Little Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Black Bittern, Shining Flycatcher, Radja Shellduck, Black-necked Stork, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Saltwater Crocodile, Spectacled Flying-fox Green Tree Snake, Water Dragon and butterflies.

After the cruise and morning tea you’ll leave the coast and head towards the Port Douglas Hinterland through the township of Julatten. On this journey you will observe the transition in our surroundings from tropical rainforest to open savannah. Your destination for the afternoon is the Forever Wild Shared Earth Reserve. Shared Earth Reserve sightings may include Quails, Magpie Geese, Black Swans, Ducks, Grebes, Darters, Cormorants, Pelicans, Swamphens, Moorhens, Coots, Herons, Egrets, Ibis, Spoonbills, Storks (Jabiru), Brolga, Sarus Crane, Bustards, Sandpipers, Jacanas which thrive on the water lilies, Lapwings, Plovers, Dotterels, Terns. Both the Laughing and Blue-winged Kookaburra are regularly seen. Bee-eaters, Dollarbirds, Tree Creepers and Pardalotes are well represented as well as numerous Honeyeaters, Robins, Thrushes, Monarchs, Fly Catchers and Wagtails are observed throughout the Wetlands.

Participate in research with your guides by completing a bird count of the wetlands. This data is invaluable for global bird exposure, recognition and understanding. Once you have filled your SD cards, you’ll have a 90-minute drive into the heart of the Atherton Tablelands where you will be based for the next two nights.
Overnight Location: Lodge near Lake Eacham
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 4 Atherton Tablelands

In the higher altitudes of the Tablelands vine forest, we are sharing our oxygen with extraordinary Marsupials and Monotremes. Our guides showcase their local knowledge and facilitate memorable moments with the Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo and the Mainland Platypus. These engendered animals will be the focus of the day.

No Western people had seen a tree-kangaroo until 113 years after Captain Cook landed in Australia. They had remained undiscovered for so long due to their remote, tree-canopy habitat in the rainforest. Furthermore, they are solitary animals and incredibly difficult hard to spot. In fact, some considered them mythical creatures, due to their elusiveness.

The infamous town of Yungaburra has been the delight of many visiting wildlife photographers. With several mountain streams populated with the Australian Platypus, the odds are in our favour for that perfect shot of a Platypus emerging to breathe.
Overnight Location: Lodge near Lake Eacham
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5 Atherton Tablelands to Cairns

The rainforests of the Tablelands provide habitat for a diverse array of other marsupials, reptiles, invertebrates and over 320 species of bird. Iconic bird species include the Victoria’s Riflebird, Golden Bowerbird, Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Atherton Scrubwren, Bridled Honeyeater, Pied Monarch, Bush Stone-curlew, Black-faced Monarch, Red-backed Fairy-wren and Forest Kingfisher.

On your final day you will dedicate time to find any wildlife that have evaded your lenses! Lake Eacham and Lake Barrine are two popular geological attractions, both formed when rising lava was pushed against ground water, resulting in explosions from the heating of these underground streams. The resulting craters of Lakes Eacham and Lake Barrine were formed around 10,000 years ago and reach a depth of 65 metres. A visit to Lake Barrine provides us with a high likelihood of seeing a Red-legged Pademelon, Musky Rat Kangaroo, Snapping Turtle, Giant Eel, Eastern Water Dragon and Saw-shell Turtle.
Overnight Location: None
Meals: Breakfast, lunch